THRG Blackrock Throgmorton Trust Plc

BLACKROCK THROGMORTON TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003B7ETS1JEDPF59)
 

All information is at 30 April 2017 and unaudited.
Performance at month end is calculated on a cum income basis

Sources: BlackRock and Datastream

*With effect from 1 December 2013 the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index replaced the Numis Smaller Companies plus AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index as the Company’s benchmark. The five year period indices have been blended to reflect this.

1. Calculated using 2016 interim dividend paid on 19 August 2016 and 2016 final dividend paid on 29 March 2017.
2. Includes current year revenue and excludes gross exposure through contracts for difference.
3. Excluding 7,400,000 shares held in treasury.
4. Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 30 November 2016.
5. Long positions less short positions as a percentage of net asset value.

Commenting on the markets, Mike Prentis and Dan Whitestone, representing the Investment Manager noted:

During April the Company’s NAV per share rose by 7.0% to 501.68p on a cum income basis, whilst our benchmark index, the Numis Smaller Companies excluding AIM (excluding Investment Companies) Index, rose by 3.9%; the FTSE 100 Index fell by 1.3%.

Outperformance during the month was predominantly driven by good stock selection.

Veterinary surgery operator CVS Group continued to perform well after reporting strong results in March, highlighting continued like-for-like sales growth and significant margin expansion resulting in earnings upgrades. JD Sports delivered excellent full year results with eps up 55%, helped by strong like-for-like sales growth in the UK. European development accelerated with 54 additional JD fascia stores opened and the first stores opened in Asia. JD operates with net cash and continues to look well placed. Keywords Studios delivered strong full results with like-for-like revenues up 24% and earnings up 61%. The company has been taking advantage of the significant market fragmentation, having made eight acquisitions throughout the year, and reiterated the intention to continue expanding its capabilities and geographical presence through M&A.

There were no major individual stock detractors from relative performance during the month. The underperformance of the resources sector saw our holding in Faroe Petroleum detract from relative performance, while First Derivatives also lagged despite providing a positive trading update during the month.

We bought a holding in bowling centre operator Hollywood Bowl. The company is successfully driving organic growth through its refurbishment programme, while also having a strong pipeline of new centres secured until 2020.

Performance within the long/short portfolio added 1.1% during the month, with long positions contributing positively, whilst shorts were a modest detractor. Long contributors included our long term core holdings in JD Sports, CVS Group, Melrose Industries. The short book in aggregate detracted, impacted by a rising market and also a rally in some of our UK consumer shorts as domestically focussed companies responded well to sterling strength during the month.

22 May 2017

ENDS

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